Follow up question...

Question
QUESTION: Hi..My husband and I haverecently become the proud parents of 2 ferrets.  Harley and Hannah brother and sister.  We have had great luck with litter box training, and have several around the room they are in, but they still move the boxes and elminate  behind them.  Its quite funny actually, they both go in seperate corners of the room.  I have tried all of the things in the books, i put them in the box when they wake, they r on my schedule, so they get up at 7am, potty and eat, potty again, and then they are a part of the family until I leave for work at 9 am. They sleep from 9am - noon when my husband comes homefor lunch, he makes sure they potty before letting them out,then they go back in the cage til i GET OFF at 5pm, where I refill the water bottle food dishes, clean the litter box, change the bedding if wet or soiled.  But even ater I come home and they have had their dinner and potty break, they still elminate in the corners behind their boxes...any suggestions on how I can help with this issue?

ANSWER: Hello Carrie, Harley and Hannah,

Unfortunately, there is not a lot I can tell you to do that would be news to you. Ferrets are notorious for deciding that they don't want to go in the litterbox anymore. That tends to happen when ferrets get out of their cage! They can be trained in the cage and totally wild out of the cage!

I'm not sure what your personal situation is, and how this advice can be acted out, but you could always try going to your local hardware store and get some velcro strips and stick them to the wall and then the litterbox and velcro them to the corners. You could also try a "wrapped" piece of duct tape. Anything you can think of the keep those litterboxes stuck to the corner. That is the problem. Ferrets tend to move their litterboxes if they can. Even ferrets that are well trained.


You could also try putting some squares of puppy training potty pad or some absorbent paper towel (I like Bounty) under the litterbox and that might catch any "accidents" that might happen without the litterbox being there.

I hope this helps, and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, Mrs. Andrews

Thank you so much for the info.  I will try your ideas.  Now  we have ran into a new problem. We have ferret proofed our house.  But apparently Hannah is not very happy.  We have put outlet protectors in all the outlets, and she keeps pulling them out with her teeth and claws.  The room they are in is our family room, because they our apart of the family.  We have given them tubes and boxes, and a ball box,but she rather play with the plug protectors, I am scared she is going to hurt herself, any ideas??

Answer
Hello again Carrie!

To tell you the truth, Hannah is probably much more interested in the outlet with the plug than the outlet without the plug in it. Do you know what I mean? She would probably leave the outlet alone if the protector weren't in it. I think you should take the protectors out and (for their safety and your comfort) observe their behavior. If they don't go near the plugs (and you should watch for a while), then I wouldn't worry about that. Those protectors may cause more of an issue, because I'm assuming they are made of some material that your little girl will swallow and that could cause a blockage!

Stick with the stuff that you're giving her for playtime. You can also try getting involved more and getting on the ground and running around playing tag and chase and stuff like that! She will love that! So will Harley! It is great bonding time for you guys!

I hope this helps, and as always, please don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews